Apparatus and method for managing account information

ABSTRACT

A method includes receiving account information associated with a user. The account information includes an electronic mail (“email”) address associated with the user. The method also includes storing the account information in an account associated with the email address. The method further includes validating the email address associated with the user. In addition, the method includes allowing a plurality of computer systems to retrieve the account information stored in the account.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure is generally directed to information management systemsand more specifically to an apparatus and method for managing accountinformation.

BACKGROUND

Corporations, businesses, and other organizations typically providevarious types of information to the general public or to a particulargroup of people. For example, public corporations often provideinvestment information to current or potential investors. Oftentimes,these people request information from multiple organizations, and manyorganizations attempt to track the people that request information. Asan example, an organization typically requires that a person requestinginformation first register with the organization's computer system andestablish a user account before the requested information is provided.Registration often involves collecting contact or other information(generally referred to as “account information”), such as a person'sname, address, telephone number, electronic mail (“email”) address, andpassword.

Conventional computer systems used by the organizations often sufferfrom one or more problems. For example, the computer systems used tocollect account information and provide requested information are oftenseparate from contact databases managed by the organizations. Also, thesame person could provide multiple sets of account information to thesame organization's computer system. In addition, people who requestinformation are often prevented from updating their account information.These and/or other problems typically make it difficult for anorganization to effectively manage account information.

SUMMARY

This disclosure provides an apparatus and method for managing accountinformation.

In one aspect, a method includes receiving account informationassociated with a user. The account information includes an electronicmail (“email”) address associated with the user. The method alsoincludes storing the account information in an account associated withthe email address. The method further includes validating the emailaddress associated with the user. In addition, the method includesallowing a plurality of computer systems to retrieve the accountinformation stored in the account.

In another aspect, a method includes detecting a user attempting toaccess a first of a plurality of computer systems and determining if theuser is registered. The method also includes registering the user bycollecting account information if the user is not registered andproviding the first computer system with an indication that the user isregistered. The first computer system is capable of providing therequested access in response to the indication. The method furtherincludes detecting the user attempting to access a second of theplurality of computer systems. In addition, the method includesproviding the second computer system with an indication that the user isregistered without requiring the user to register again. The secondcomputer system is capable of providing the requested access in responseto the indication.

Other technical features may be readily apparent to one skilled in theart from the following figures, descriptions, and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of this disclosure, reference is nowmade to the following description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system for managing account informationaccording to one embodiment of this disclosure;

FIGS. 2A through 2D illustrate example interfaces used to collectaccount information according to one embodiment of this disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example method for collecting account informationfor a user according to one embodiment of this disclosure;

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate an example method for providing requestedinformation or functions to users according to one embodiment of thisdisclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example method for account management according toone embodiment of this disclosure; and

FIG. 6 illustrates an example method for facilitating communicationbetween users and organizations according to one embodiment of thisdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system 100 for managing accountinformation according to one embodiment of this disclosure. In thisexample embodiment, the system 100 includes one or more organizationcomputer systems 102 a-102 n, a network 104, one or more end userdevices 106 a-106 d, an account management server 108, and a database110. The system 100 shown in FIG. 1 is for illustration only. Otherembodiments of the system 100 may be used without departing from thescope of this disclosure.

In the illustrated example, the organization computer systems 102 a-102n are coupled to the network 104. In this document, the term “couple”and its derivatives refer to any direct or indirect communicationbetween two or more elements, whether or not those elements are inphysical contact with one another. The organization computer systems 102a-102 n are associated with one or more organizations. The organizationscould represent, for example, businesses, corporations, non-profitgroups, or any other or additional types of organizations. Theorganization computer systems 102 a-102 n are capable of performing awide variety of functions. For example, the organization computersystems 102 a-102 n may be capable of providing requested information toone or more users of the end user devices 106 a-106 d. Also, theorganization computer systems 102 a-102 n may be capable of performingfunctions requested by the users of the end user devices 106 a-106 d.

In this example, each of the organization computer systems 102 a-102 nincludes one or more information request systems 112 and a contactmanagement system 114. In this document, the term “each” means every oneof at least a subset of the identified items. Each of the informationrequest systems 112 represents any suitable system that is capable ofproviding requested information to one or more users of the end userdevices 106 a-106 d. For example, the information request systems 112may represent systems for providing various documents to the users uponrequest. The information request systems 112 may also represent systemsfor providing electronic mail (“email”) messages, surveys,presentations, or Internet broadcasts (referred to as “webcasts”) to theusers.

The contact management system 114 represents a system used by anorganization to manage the organization's contact information. Forexample, organizations typically wish to maintain contact informationfor a wide variety of people, such as customers, business partners,vendors, suppliers, or investors. The contact management system 114stores information about these and/or other people. As an example, thecontact management system 114 could store information such as thepeople's names, addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses.

The network 104 is coupled to the organization computer systems 102a-102 n and the account management server 108. The network 104 may alsobe coupled to various ones of the end user devices 106 a-106 d. Thenetwork 104 facilitates communication between components of the system100. For example, the network 104 may communicate Internet Protocol(“IP”) packets, frame relay frames, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (“ATM”)cells, or other suitable information between network addresses. Thenetwork 104 may include one or more local area networks (“LANs”),metropolitan area networks (“MANs”), wide area networks (“WANs”), all ora portion of a global network such as the Internet, or any othercommunication system or systems at one or more locations. The network104 may also operate according to any appropriate type of protocol orprotocols, such as Ethernet, IP, X.25, frame relay, or any otherprotocol.

The end user devices 106 a-106 d communicate with the network 104. Theend user devices 106 a-106 d represent computing or communicationdevices used by users to access the organization computer systems 102a-102 n or the account management server 108. For example, the users mayuse the end user devices 106 a-106 d to request information from one ormore of the organization computer systems 102 a-102 n. The end userdevices 106 a-106 d represent any suitable devices capable ofcommunicating with the organization computer systems 102 a-102 n and/orthe account management server 108 (either directly or indirectly, suchas through the network 104). In this example, the end user devices 106a-106 d include a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a personaldigital assistant, and a mobile telephone. These examples of the enduser devices 106 a-106 d are for illustration only. Any other oradditional types of end user devices may be used in the system 100 ofFIG. 1. Also, the end user devices 106 a-106 d may communicate with thenetwork 104 over any suitable connections, including wireline andwireless connections.

The information request systems 112 in different organization computersystems 102 a-102 n may be unable to interact directly with one anotherand exchange information about the users of the end user devices 106a-106 d. As a result, users of the end user devices 106 a-106 d may berequired to provide the same account information to multipleorganization computer systems 102 a-102 n. Also, the information requestsystems 112 may be unable to interact with the contact managementsystems 114 in the organization computer systems 102 a-102 n. Further,the information request systems 112 might otherwise include multipleaccounts for the same user of a user device 106 a-106 d. In addition,the information request systems 112 and contact management systems 114may be unable to allow the users of the end user devices 106 a-106 d tomanage and control their account information. These and/or otherproblems may make it difficult for organizations to effectively managetheir account information.

One or more of these problems may be reduced or eliminated by theaccount management server 108. The account management server 108 iscoupled to the network 104 and the database 110. In general, the accountmanagement server 108 provides a centralized management platform formanaging contact and other account information associated with users ofat least some of the end user devices 106 a-106 d. For example, theaccount management server 108 may maintain accounts for users of theuser devices 106 a-106 d, where the accounts contain or are otherwiseassociated with up-to-date contact information for the users.

The account management server 108 includes any hardware, software,firmware, or combination thereof for managing account information. Inthe illustrated example, the account management server 108 includes oneor more processors 116 and one or more memories 118 containing data andinstructions used by the one or more processors 116. Also, the accountmanagement server 108 could use any suitable mechanism for collectingaccount information, such as a web-based interface.

The database 110 is coupled to the account management server 108. Thedatabase 110 stores information used by the account management server108 to provide account management. For example, the database 110 maystore unique records 120, which represent user accounts maintained bythe account management server 108. Ideally, each of the unique records120 contains account information for a different user of the end userdevices 106 a-106 d. As particular examples, each of the unique records120 may include a name, home address, home telephone number, workaddress, work telephone number, mobile telephone number, and/or emailaddress for a user of the end user devices 106 a-106 d. The database 110includes any hardware, software, firmware, or combination thereof forstoring and facilitating retrieval of information. The database 110 mayalso use any of a variety of data structures, arrangements, andcompilations to store and facilitate retrieval of information.

The database 110 may use any suitable identifier to uniquely associate aparticular user with a unique record 120. For example, in someembodiments, the database 110 uses email addresses as the uniqueidentifier. If a user has provided only one email address to theorganization computer systems 102 a-102 n and/or the account managementserver 108, that user will be associated with one unique record 120. Inother embodiments, different information (such as social securitynumbers) may be used as the unique identifier.

The account management server 108 may support various functions tocollect, maintain, and use the account information associated with theusers of the end user devices 106 a-106 d and that is stored in thedatabase 110. The following description describes several examples ofthe functions that may be performed or supported by the accountmanagement server 108. Other or additional functions could be performedor supported by the account management server 108.

In some embodiments, the account management server 108 receives andstores account information in the database 110. For example, the accountmanagement server 108 may allow a user of the end user devices 106 a-106d to register and provide account information directly to the accountmanagement server 108. The account management server 108 may alsoreceive account information for a user indirectly, such as receiving theaccount information through one or more of the organization computersystems 102 a-102 n. The collection of information indirectly throughthe organization computer systems 102 a-102 n may be done transparentlyto the user. As a particular example, an information request system 112in the organization computer systems 102 a-102 n could act as a portalfor the account management server 108. A form used by the accountmanagement server 108 to collect account information may be presented bythe information request system 112 to the user. Information entered intothe form may be provided to the account management server 108 throughthe information request system 112. Moreover, the organization itselfcould provide account information to the account management server 108.This provides greater flexibility in how account information may becollected by the account management server 108.

As another example, account information for a particular user may becollected all at once or over time. A user who wishes to provide allaccount information at one time may do so, while account informationabout a different user may be collected gradually. For example, a userwho accesses one of the organization computer systems 102 a-102 n mayinitially provide only his or her email address. When the user accessesone of the organization computer systems 102 a-102 n a second time, theuser may provide his or her name and home zip code. A third time, theuser may provide his or her complete mailing address. In this way, theuser may not be required to provide a large amount of accountinformation all at once. This may increase the likelihood that morecomplete account information about the user can be collected.

As yet another example, when a user attempts to access the organizationcomputer systems 102 a-102 n, the organization computer systems 102a-102 n may determine whether the user has registered with the accountmanagement server 108 (whether account information for that user isbeing maintained by the account management server 108). If so, theorganization computer systems 102 a-102 n may provide access torequested information or functions without requiring the user toregister with the organization computer systems 102 a-102 n. This mayallow the user to gain access to requested information or functions moreeasily.

Moreover, organizations can establish different levels of access fordifferent information or functions provided by the information requestsystems 112. Some information or functions may be provided only if auser has registered and provided all required account information to theaccount management server 108, while other information or functions maybe provided without restriction. Also, the account management server 108could support an “invitation” feature whereby only particular users areinvited to gain access to particular information or functions of theorganization's computer system. If an uninvited user attempts to accessthe information or function, the organization could use the accountmanagement server 108 to identify the user and decide whether to approveaccess for the uninvited user.

Beyond that, the account management server 108 may allow the usersthemselves to access, edit, and control their own account information.This may allow, for example, a user to edit his or her home mailingaddress and telephone number. Also, the contact management systems 114in the organization computer systems 102 a-102 n may reference orotherwise retrieve account information for particular users from thedatabase 110 through the account management server 108. This may allowthe organization computer systems 102 a-102 n to have access to moreup-to-date contact or other account information about the users.

In addition, the account management server 108 may store or otherwiseprovide access to information relevant to the users and provide aconduit for communications between one or multiple organizations and theusers. For example, the account management server 108 may store indatabase 110 or otherwise provide access to news items, file downloads,updated websites, or any other or additional information. The variousinformation may be provided by one or more of the organizations oridentified by the user. In some embodiments, multiple organizations mayprovide information for presentation to a user, and the accountmanagement server 108 provides the information to the user whenever theuser accesses any one of the organization computer systems 102 a-102 n.In this way, the user need not access a particular organization'scomputer system to gain access to the information from thatorganization. Once a user has viewed the information or taken some otheraction related to the information, the information may be removed fromthe user's display.

In particular embodiments, the organization computer systems 102 a-102 nprovide information for or execute functions associated with investorrelations. Also, the users of the end user devices 106 a-106 d mayrepresent actual or potential investors. A subset of these users couldrepresent “accredited investors,” or investors who have satisfiedSecurities and Exchange Commission accreditation requirements.

These users may request investment information from the informationrequest systems 112 in the organization computer systems 102 a-102 n. Asparticular examples, users could request information such as documentsfiled with the Securities and Exchange Commission, press releases issuedby the organization, or any other or additional information that may beof interest to investors. The actual or potential investors may alsorequest that the information request systems 112 execute particularfunctions for the investors. As an example, an investor may wish to joinan email list that allows the investor to receive email alerts whenparticular events associated with the organization occur. An informationrequest system 112 may then add the investor's email address to theemail list. This may allow, for example, the investor to be notifiedwhen relevant investment information is released by the organization.Further, organizations could contact accredited investors to attempt toraise capital or perform other activities involving only a subset of theusers. Moreover, users could participate in various surveys and otheractivities related to investments, and a user visiting an organization'scomputer system could view survey and other information related to thatorganization. In addition, the two-way communication feature could allowone of the organizations to provide an investor with an offer topurchase stock, a proxy solicitation, or an offer to participate in adirect reinvestment program. The investor could receive that informationwhenever the investor accesses any of the organization computer systems102 a-102 n.

Although FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a system 100 for managingaccount information, various changes may be made to FIG. 1. For example,the system 100 may include any number of organization computer systems102, networks 104, end user devices 106, servers 108, and databases 110.Also, although the description above has described the use of a server108 in the system 100, the functionality of the server 108 could beimplemented on other computing device(s), such as a desktop computer ora laptop computer. Further, each of the organization computer systems102 a-102 n may or may not include both an information request system112 and a contact management system 114. In addition, while FIG. 1illustrates that one database 110 is coupled directly to the accountmanagement server 108, any number of databases 110 may reside at anylocation or locations accessible by the server 108.

FIGS. 2A through 2D illustrate example interfaces used to collectaccount information according to one embodiment of this disclosure. Inparticular, FIGS. 2A through 2D illustrate example interfaces used bythe account management server 108 of FIG. 1 to collect accountinformation. The interfaces shown in FIGS. 2A through 2D are forillustration only. Other mechanisms may be used to collect accountinformation without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Also,the interfaces may be described as being used when a user attempts toaccess information or functions through an information request system112. The same or similar interfaces could be used when the user attemptsto register directly with the account management server 108.

As described above, the information request systems 112 may supportvarious levels of access to information and functions. For example, theinformation request systems 112 could provide access to particularinformation or functions for all users, for users who have registeredand provided account information, or for users who have registered andprovided account information and verified their email addresses.

Assuming that some form of registration is needed to access requestedinformation or functions, the account management server 108 provides aninterface 200 shown in FIG. 2A to the user. The interface 200 isprovided to the user through the information request system 112, whichacts as a portal for the account management server 108. In this example,the interface 200 includes an entry box 202 requesting that the userprovide his or her email address. The interface 200 also includes asubmit button 204 and a cancel button 206. In this example embodiment,the account management server 108 uses email addresses as a uniqueidentifier. In other words, each unique email address is associated witha different unique record 120. In other embodiments, different uniqueidentifiers could be used and requested using the interface 200.

When some form of registration is needed to access information orfunctions in the organization computer systems 102 a-102 n, the userprovides an email address in the entry box 202 and selects the submitbutton 204. The account management server 108 uses the provided emailaddress to attempt to locate a unique record 120 with a matching emailaddress. If a unique record 120 with a matching email address islocated, this indicates that the user has already established an account(registered) with the account management server 108. The accountmanagement server 108 informs the information request system 112, andthe information request system 112 may provide access to the requestedinformation or function.

If a unique record 120 with a matching email address is not located, theaccount management server 108 provides the user with an interface 220,which is shown in FIG. 2B. The interface 220 includes multiple entryboxes 222, a submit button 224, and a cancel button 224. The entry boxes222 are used to collect different account information from the user,allowing the user to register with the account management server 108. Inthis example, the entry boxes 222 are used to collect the user's name,birthdate, home address, and home telephone number. This represents onlysome examples of the account information that may be collected using theinterface 220. Other or additional account information may be collectedby the account management server 108.

The account management server 108 stores the information provided by theuser through the interface 220 in a new unique record 120, creating anew account for and registering that user. The new unique record 120 isassociated with the email address entered in the entry box 202 of FIG.2A. Additional information may also be stored in the new unique record120. For example, the account management server 108 could perform a mailexchange (“MX”) record lookup using the email address provided by theuser in the entry box 202 of FIG. 2A. An MX record lookup is used toidentify the email servers used by a specified email address, whichallows an email address to be verified. The results of the MX recordlookup, such as the identity of the email servers, could be stored inthe new unique record 120 associated with an email address.

If the MX record lookup confirms that an email address is valid and theuser has provided the required account information, the user may be ableto gain access to the requested information or function of theorganization computer systems 102 a-102 n if no additional registrationis required. However, an organization may require additionalregistration, such as requiring validation of the email addressassociated with the new unique record 120.

To validate an email address, the account management server 108 maycommunicate an email message to the email address, where the emailmessage contains a validation code. The validation code could represent,for example, a numeric or alphanumeric code. The email message may alsocontain a uniform resource locator (“URL”) or other mechanism thatdirects the user to an interface 240 shown in FIG. 2C.

The interface 240 shown in FIG. 2C identifies an email address 242,which represents the email address provided using the interface 200 ofFIG. 2A. The interface 240 also includes a validation code entry box244, a submit button 246, and a cancel button 248. The entry box 244allows the user to enter the validation code contained in the validationemail message sent to the user's email address. If the validation codeentered in the entry box 244 by the user matches the validation codecontained in the validation email message, the account management server108 validates the user's email address. In this way, the accountmanagement server 108 verifies whether a user attempting to accessinformation or functions in the organization computer systems 102 a-102n has provided a valid email address used by that particular user.

The use of validation email messages containing validation codesrepresents one possible mechanism for validating email addresses. Othermechanisms could also be used by the account management server 108 tovalidate email addresses. For example, the account management server 108could send an email message to the email address provided by a user,where the email message contains a URL that uniquely corresponds to thatemail address. If the user later uses the URL, the account managementserver 108 may validate the user's email address without requiring theuser to enter a validation code.

After the account management server 108 has stored at least some accountinformation for a particular user, the user may view his or her accountinformation using an interface 260, which is shown in FIG. 2D. Theinterface 260 identifies the account information stored in the uniquerecord 120 associated with the user's email address. The interface 260also includes an edit button 262 and a cancel button 264. The editbutton 262 allows the user to add, change, or delete at least some ofthe account information contained in the unique record 120. For example,the user may be able to change the user's home mailing address ortelephone number. As another example, the user may be able to provide anew email address, and the account management server 108 may attempt tovalidate the new email address.

In some embodiments, before the user is allowed to edit information in aunique record 120, the user may be required to provide a passwordassociated with the unique record 120. The password could be establishedat any suitable time and in any suitable manner. For example, thepassword may be generated and provided by the account management server108 after the user enters information using the interface 220 or theinterface 240. The password could also be generated by the accountmanagement server 108 and included in the validation email message sentto the user's email address. Further, the password could be selected ormodified by the user during registration or at any other suitable time.

Although FIGS. 2A through 2D illustrate examples of the interfaces usedto collect account information, various changes may be made to FIGS. 2Athrough 2D. For example, each of the interfaces 200-260 may include anyother or additional contents in any suitable arrangement. Also, multipleinterfaces 220 may be used to collect different pieces of accountinformation from a user at different times. In addition, while theaccount management server 108 has been described as using email messagesto communicate with a user who is using the interfaces 200-260, othermeans of communication could be utilized by the account managementserver 108.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example method 300 for collecting accountinformation for a user according to one embodiment of this disclosure.For ease of explanation, the method 300 is described with respect to theaccount management server 108 operating in the system 100 of FIG. 1. Themethod 300 could be used by any other suitable device and in any othersuitable system.

The account management server 108 receives an identification of a user'semail address at step 302. This may include, for example, the accountmanagement server 108 receiving the email address directly from a userwho is accessing the account management server 108. This may alsoinclude the account management server 108 receiving the email addressfrom one of the organization computer systems 102 a-102 n that the useris attempting to access.

The account management server 108 determines if the email address failsto match email addresses contained in all existing unique records 120 atstep 304. In this example embodiment, the account management server 108uses the email address as the unique identifier for the records 120. Inother embodiments, other identifiers (such as social security numbers)may be received at step 302 and used at step 304. If the email addressmatches an existing unique record 120, a new unique record 120 is notcreated, and the method 300 ends. At this point, the user has alreadyregistered, and a corresponding account maintained by the accountmanagement server 108 exists.

When the account management server 108 determines that no unique record120 matches the received email address, the account management server108 performs an MX record lookup of the received email address at step306. This may include, for example, the account management server 108identifying the email server or servers that receive incoming emailmessages for the received email address.

The account management server 108 collects account information from theuser at step 308. This may include, for example, the account managementserver 108 (either directly or indirectly through one of theorganization computer systems 102 a-102 n) providing the user with aform to be completed by the user. The account information could includethe user's name, address(es), telephone number(s), birthdate, andpassword.

The account management server 108 generates a new unique record 120 andstores the collected account information and MX record lookup results inthe new record 120 at step 310. This may include, for example, theaccount management server 108 storing the account information receivedfrom the user and the user's email address in the new record 120. Thismay also include the account management server 108 storing the identityof the email server(s) that were located during the MX record lookup.

The account management server 108 sends a validation message containinga validation code to the user's email address at step 312. This mayinclude, for example, the account management server 108 generating anemail message that includes a numeric or alphanumeric code uniquelyassociated with the email address. The email message may also include aURL or other mechanism directing the user to an interface, such as theinterface 240 of FIG. 2C, where the code can be provided to the accountmanagement server 108.

The account management server 108 receives the code from the user,thereby validating the user's email address, at step 314. This mayinclude, for example, the account management server 108 receiving thecode contained in the validation email message from the user using aninterface, such as the interface 240 of FIG. 2C.

At various points throughout the method 300, the account information maybe retrieved by one or more of the organization computer systems 102a-102 n. For example, the information may be retrieved after theinformation is stored at step 310 or after the email address isvalidated at step 314.

Although FIG. 3 illustrates one example of a method 300 for collectingaccount information for a user, various changes may be made to FIG. 3.For example, step 308 may be repeated multiple times in the method 300,where different pieces of account information are collected each time.Also, step 312 may be repeated (such as at a specified interval of time)until the email address is validated by the user. In addition,mechanisms other than a validation code may be used to validate an emailaddress.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate an example method 400 for providing requestedinformation or functions to users according to one embodiment of thisdisclosure. For ease of explanation, the method 400 is described withrespect to the system 100 of FIG. 1. The method 400 could be used in anyother suitable system.

One of the organization computer systems 102 a-102 n receives a requestfrom a user requesting access to a feature of the system at step 402.The feature may represent information or a function of the organizationcomputer system. The request may represent a request to accessinformation or a request to invoke a function of the organizationcomputer system. As particular examples, the request may represent arequest to receive investor information (such as an investor kit), tojoin an email list, or to receive a webcast. In response to the request,the organization computer system may send a notification to the accountmanagement server 108 indicating that the user is attempting to accessthe account management server 108.

One of the organization computer systems 102 a-102 n or the accountmanagement server 108 determines whether the user must have an account(whether registration is needed) before access to the feature is allowedat step 404. This may include, for example, the account managementserver 108 or organization computer system determining whether theorganization's policies allow free or restricted access to the requestedfeature.

If no account is needed, the requested feature is provided to the userat step 438. This may include, for example, the organization computersystem providing the requested information to the user or executing therequested function on the user's behalf.

Otherwise, at least some form of registration is required before accessto the requested feature is allowed. One of the organization computersystems 102 a-102 n or the account management server 108 determineswhether the user is currently involved in an active validated sessionwith the account management server 108 at step 406. The active validatedsession indicates that the user has already registered and beenvalidated (such as through a password) by the account management server108. As a particular example, the user may have registered with theaccount management server 108 and recently provided the user's emailaddress and password to the account management server 108. If there is acurrent validated session, the requested information or function may beprovided to the user at step 438.

If there is no current validated session, one of the organizationcomputer systems 102 a-102 n or the account management server 108determines whether the user is using an end user device 106 a-106 d thatcurrently has access to a validated account cookie at step 408. Thevalidated account cookie contains information that allows the end userdevice 106 a-106 d to automatically log in to the account managementserver 108. The validated account cookie indicates that the user hasalready registered and was previously validated by the accountmanagement server 108. As a particular example, the validated accountcookie may contain information such as the user's email address andpassword. A validated account cookie may be stored in the end userdevice 106 a-106 d at any suitable time, such as when the userpreviously used the end user device 106 a-106 d to provide the user'semail address and password to one of the information computer systems102 a-102 n or to the account management server 108.

If a validated account cookie is available, an automatic login isperformed at step 410. This may include, for example, the accountmanagement server 108 receiving the login information (such as emailaddress and password) from the validated account cookie in the end userdevice 106 a-106 d. This may also include the account management server108 authenticating the user using this information. The requestedinformation or function is then provided to the user at step 438.

If a validated account cookie is not available, one of the organizationcomputer systems 102 a-102 n or the account management server 108determines whether the user is using an end user device 106 a-106 d thatcurrently has access to an email cookie at step 412. The email cookiecontains information identifying the user's email address. The emailcookie may indicate that the user has previously provided his or heremail address to a computer system. An email cookie may be stored in theend user device 106 a-106 d at any suitable time. For example, an emailcookie may be stored in the end user device 106 a-106 d when the userpreviously provided his or her email address to one of the informationcomputer systems 102 a-102 n or to the account management server 108.

If no email cookie is available, one of the organization computersystems 102 a-102 n or the account management server 108 requests thatthe user provide his or her email address and receives the email addressat step 414. The account management server 108 also performs an MXrecord lookup at step 416. Up until now, the organization computersystems 102 a-102 n and the account management server 108 have attemptedto use cookies to simplify the authentication process. The use ofcookies may reduce or eliminate the need for the user to provide anyinformation during the registration and/or verification process. Forexample, if an email cookie is available, steps 414-416 may be skippedbecause the user's email address can be determined without user input.

Once the user's email address is obtained (through a cookie or userinput), the account management server 108 compares the email address tothe addresses associated with the unique records 120 at step 418. If amatching unique record 120 is not found, the account management server108 registers the user and creates a new unique record 120 at step 420.The account management server 108 could use, for example, the method 300of FIG. 3 to register the user.

If a unique record 120 with a matching email address is found or theuser has just registered, one of the organization computer systems 102a-102 n or the account management server 108 determines whether avalidated session is required to access the requested information orfunction at step 422. This may include, for example, the accountmanagement server 108 or organization computer system determiningwhether an organization's policies require a user to provide his or herpassword.

If a validated session is not required, one of the organization computersystems 102 a-102 n or the account management server 108 determineswhether a successful MX record lookup is required to access therequested information or function at step 424. This may include, forexample, the account management server 108 or organization computersystem determining whether an organization's policies require asuccessful MX record lookup. If not, the requested information orfunction is provided at step 438.

If a validated session or successful MX record lookup is needed, theaccount management server 108 determines whether the user's emailaddress has been validated at step 426. This may include, for example,the account management server 108 determining if the unique record 120associated with the user's email address indicates that the emailaddress has been validated.

If the email address has been validated, the account management server108 requests the user's password at step 428. This may include, forexample, the account management server 108 providing the user with aninterface requesting that the user enter his or her password. Theaccount management server 108 then receives and verifies the user'spassword at step 430. If the user enters an incorrect password, theaccount management server 108 may give the user one or more additionalchances to provide the password. Once the correct password has beenreceived, the user has both registered and been validated. The requestedinformation or function is then provided at step 438.

If the user's email address has not been validated, the accountmanagement server 108 sends a validation message containing a validationcode to the user's email address at step 432 and receives the code fromthe user at step 434. This validates the user's email address. Oncevalidated, the account management server 108 asks the user to establisha password associated with the validated email address at step 436. Therequested feature is then provided to the user at step 438.

Although FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate one example of a method 400 forproviding requested information or functions to users, various changesmay be made to FIGS. 4A and 4B. For example, the account managementserver 108 could require that the user always provide his or her emailaddress at step 414 and not support the use of cookies. In theseembodiments, steps 406-412 could be omitted. Also, the accountmanagement server 108 could require that email addresses always bevalidated, and step 426 could be skipped. Further, while FIGS. 4A and 4Bshow the use of email addresses as the unique identifier to locate aunique record 120, other identifiers could be received at step 414 andused at step 418. In addition, the method 400 is shown as allowing auser to establish a password at step 436 after the user has validatedhis or her email address. The user could be allowed to establish apassword at any other or additional time.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example method 500 for account managementaccording to one embodiment of this disclosure. In particular, FIG. 5illustrates an example method 500 that allows an organization to use theaccount management server 108 to perform account management for taskssuch as investor relations. For ease of explanation, the method 500 isdescribed with respect to the system 100 of FIG. 1. The method 500 couldbe used in any other suitable system.

The account management server 108 receives one or more search criteriafrom an organization at step 502. This may include, for example,personnel of the organization providing the search criteria to theaccount management server 108 using a computing device such as a desktopcomputer. The search criteria could represent any suitable information,such as a full or partial name, home address, telephone number, or emailaddress of a user of the end user devices 106 a-106 d.

The account management server 108 searches the unique records 120 toidentify any with matching contents at step 504. This may include, forexample, the account management server 108 comparing the received searchcriteria to the contents of the unique records 120. The accountmanagement server 108 could attempt to locate exact matches between thesearch criteria and the contents of the unique records 120 or partialmatches. In particular embodiments, an organization may have limitedaccess to the unique records 120, and the account management server 108may ensure that only the records 120 to which the organization hasaccess are used during the search.

The account management server 108 provides a list of matching uniquerecords 120 (if any) to the organization at step 506. This may include,for example, the account management server 108 providing a list of namesfrom the matching unique records 120 to the organization's personnel.

The account management server 108 determines whether the organizationselects one of the identified unique records 120 at step 508. This mayinclude, for example, the account management server 108 determiningwhether the organization's personnel selects one of the names containedin the list.

If the organization does not select any names in the list, the accountmanagement server 108 allows the organization to create a new uniquerecord 120. The account management server 108 receives, from theorganization, account information for a user of the end user devices 106a-106 d at step 510. The account management server 108 then stores thereceived account information in a new unique record 120 at step 512.

After a new unique record 120 is created by an organization or anexisting unique record 120 is selected by an organization, theorganization may add the unique record 120 as a contact in theorganization's contact management system 114 at step 514. This mayinclude, for example, the organization's contact management system 114inserting a reference into a database, where the reference identifiesthe user's unique record 120 in the database 110. In this way, theuser's account information is available to the organization. Moreover,as the user's account information changes, the organization has accessto the updated information.

Although FIG. 5 illustrates one example of a method 500 for accountmanagement, various changes may be made to FIG. 5. For example, anorganization may be limited to searching existing unique records 120 andnot allowed to create new unique records 120. Also, an organization maybe allowed to search only a subset of the unique records 120.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example method 600 for facilitating communicationbetween users and organizations according to one embodiment of thisdisclosure. For ease of explanation, the method 600 is described withrespect to the account management server 108 operating in the system 100of FIG. 1. The method 600 could be used by any other suitable device andin any other suitable system.

The account management server 108 receives information for a user fromone or multiple organizations at step 602. This may include, forexample, the account management server 108 receiving information, URLsfor accessing information, or any other or additional content from oneor more of the organization computer systems 102 a-102 n. The receivedinformation could represent any suitable content, such as news items,file downloads, updated websites, or any other or additional content.

The account management server 108 detects the user accessing one of theorganization computer systems 102 a-102 n at step 604. This may include,for example, the account management server 108 receiving an indicationfrom one of the organization computer systems 102 a-102 n that the userhas provided an email address and password to the computer system. Thismay also include the account management server 108 validating the user'semail address and password.

The account management server 108 provides to the user a list ofinformation that has been received from the organizations at step 606.This may include, for example, the account management server 108providing a list of URLs or other links to the information from theorganizations.

The account management server 108 determines if the user selectsinformation from the list at step 608. This may include, for example,the account management server 108 determining if the user has selected alink in the list provided to the user. If so, the selected informationis provided to the user at step 610, and the selected information isremoved from the list at step 612.

In this way, multiple organizations are capable of providing informationto a user. Moreover, information from multiple organizations may beprovided to the user when the user accesses a single one of theorganization computer systems 102 a-102 n. As a particular example, theused could represent an investor, and the organizations could representcorporations and other businesses in which the investor may choose toinvest. Each of the organizations could provide the user with an offerto purchase stock, a proxy solicitation, or an offer to participate in adirect reinvestment program. This communication capability may actuallyallow the account management server 108 to act as a new type of stockexchange, facilitating the flow of information from businesses toinvestors and business-to-investor e-commerce.

The account management server 108 facilitates communication between theorganization computer systems 102 a-102 n and the users by allowingmultiple organizations to provide information to the users. The usersmay access this information using the links provided by the accountmanagement server 108, and the links may provide access to theinformation maintained by the organization computer systems 102 a-102 n.Moreover, the users may access information provided by multipleorganizations whenever the users access a single one of the organizationcomputer systems 102 a-102 n. As a result, the account management server108 acts as a mechanism for conjoining the organization computer systems102 a-102 n so that a user may easily access information in each of thecomputer systems whenever a single computer system is accessed.

Although FIG. 6 illustrates one example of a method 600 for facilitatingcommunication between users and organizations, various changes may bemade to FIG. 6. For example, the list of information could also beprovided to the user when the user accesses the account managementserver 108.

It may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words andphrases used throughout this patent document. The terms “include” and“comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion withoutlimitation. The term “or” is inclusive, meaning and/or. The phrases“associated with” and “associated therewith,” as well as derivativesthereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with,contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, becommunicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximateto, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, or the like. The term“controller” means any device, system or part thereof that controls atleast one operation. A controller may be implemented in hardware,firmware, software, or some combination of at least two of the same. Thefunctionality associated with any particular controller may becentralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely.

While this disclosure has described certain embodiments and generallyassociated methods, alterations and permutations of these embodimentsand methods will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly,the above description of example embodiments does not define orconstrain this disclosure. Other changes, substitutions, and alterationsare also possible without departing from the spirit and scope of thisdisclosure, as defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, at an accountmanagement server, first account information associated with a user froma first computer system associated with a first business entityunaffiliated with the account management server, the first accountinformation comprising an electronic mail (“email”) address associatedwith the user, the first account information received while the user isaccessing the first computer system; receiving, at the accountmanagement server, second account information associated with the userfrom a second computer system associated with a second business entityunaffiliated with the first computer system and the account managementserver, the second account information received while the user isaccessing the second computer system; storing, at the account managementserver, the first and second account information in an accountassociated with the email address; validating the email addressassociated with the user; and allowing the first and second computersystems to retrieve the first and second account information stored inthe account.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein validating the emailaddress comprises: repeatedly sending at a specified interval of time anemail message containing a validation code to the email addressassociated with the user until the user processes the validation code;and receiving the processed validation code from the user.
 3. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: performing a mail exchange record lookupfor the email address associated with the user; and storing results ofthe mail exchange record lookup.
 4. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving a password from the user; and validating thepassword.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein each of the computer systemsis configured to: provide access to at least one of first requestedinformation and a first function when at least the first accountinformation associated with the user has been received and the passwordhas been validated; provide access to at least one of second requestedinformation and a second function when at least the first accountinformation associated with the user has been received without requiringthe password to be validated; and provide access to at least one ofthird requested information and a third function without requiring thefirst account information associated with the user to be received andwithout requiring the password to be validated.
 6. The method of claim2, wherein the validation code comprises at least one of: analphanumeric code associated with the email address; and a URL directingthe user to an interface.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein validatingthe email address comprises: determining whether the user is using anend user device that has access to an email cookie that containsinformation identifying the email address.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein one of the computer systems comprises at least one of: one ormore information request systems and one or more contact managementsystems.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the user comprises aninvestor.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein allowing the first andsecond computer systems to retrieve the stored account informationcomprises: receiving one or more search criteria from the businessentity associated with one of the computer systems; identifying one ormore records in a database containing account information that matchesthe one or more search criteria; providing the business entity with alist of the one or more records; allowing the business entity to selectat least one of the one or more records in the list; and providing areference to the at least one selected record for use by a contactmanagement system.
 11. An apparatus for use as an account managementserver, comprising: a memory operable to store account informationassociated with a user, the account information comprising an electronicmail (“email”) address associated with the user; and one or moreprocessors collectively operable to: receive from a first computersystem a first part of the account information associated with the userwhile the user is accessing the first computer system, the firstcomputer system associated with a first business entity unaffiliatedwith the account management server; receive from a second computersystem a second part of the account information associated with the userwhile the user is accessing the second computer system, the secondcomputer system associated with a second business entity unaffiliatedwith the first computer system and the account management server;validate the email address associated with the user; and allow the firstand second computer systems to retrieve the stored account information.12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors arefurther collectively operable to: perform a mail exchange record lookupfor the email address associated with the user; and store results of themail exchange record lookup in the memory.
 13. The apparatus of claim11, wherein each of the computer systems is configured to: provideaccess to at least one of first requested information and a firstfunction when the account information associated with the user has beenreceived and a password has been validated; provide access to at leastone of second requested information and a second function when theaccount information associated with the user has been received withoutrequiring the password to be validated; and provide access to at leastone of third requested information and a third function withoutrequiring the account information associated with the user to bereceived and without requiring the password to be validated.
 14. Theapparatus of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors arecollectively operable to repeatedly send at a specified interval of timean email message containing a validation code to the email addressassociated with the user until the user processes the validation code;and receive the processed validation code from the user.
 15. Theapparatus of claim 14, wherein the validation code comprises at leastone of: an alphanumeric code associated with the email address; and aURL directing the user to an interface.
 16. The apparatus of claim 11,wherein the one or more processors are collectively operable to allowthe first and second computer systems to retrieve the stored accountinformation by: receiving one or more search criteria from the businessentity associated with at least one of the computer systems; identifyingone or more records in a database containing account information thatmatches the one or more search criteria; providing the business entitywith a list of the one or more records; allowing the business entity toselect at least one of the one or more records in the list; andproviding a reference to the at least one selected record for use by acontact management system.
 17. A computer readable medium comprising acomputer program, the computer program usable with an account managementserver, the computer program comprising computer readable program codefor: receiving first account information associated with a user from afirst computer system associated with a first business entityunaffiliated with the account management server, the first accountinformation comprising an electronic mail (“email”) address associatedwith the user, the first account information received while the user isaccessing the first computer system; receiving second accountinformation associated with the user from a second computer systemassociated with a second business entity unaffiliated with the firstcomputer system and the account management server, the second accountinformation received while the user is accessing the second computersystem; storing the first and second account information in an accountassociated with the email address; validating the email addressassociated with the user; and allowing the first and second computersystems to retrieve the first and second account information stored inthe account, wherein validating the email address comprises: repeatedlycommunicating at a specified interval of time an email messagecontaining a validation code to the email address associated with theuser until the user processes the validation code; and receiving theprocessed validation code from the user.
 18. The computer readablemedium of claim 17, wherein the validation code comprises at least oneof: an alphanumeric code associated with the email address; and a URLdirecting the user to an interface.
 19. The computer readable medium ofclaim 17, further comprising computer readable program code for:performing a mail exchange record lookup for the email addressassociated with the user; and storing results of the mail exchangerecord lookup.
 20. The computer readable medium of claim 19, whereineach of the computer systems is configured to: provide access to atleast one of first requested information and a first function when atleast the first account information associated with the user has beenreceived and the password has been validated; provide access to at leastone of second requested information and a second function when at leastthe first account information associated with the user has been receivedwithout requiring the password to be validated; and provide access to atleast one of third requested information and a third function withoutrequiring the first account information associated with the user to bereceived and without requiring the password to be validated.
 21. Thecomputer readable medium of claim 17, wherein validating the emailaddress comprises determining whether the user is using an end userdevice that has access to an email cookie that contains informationidentifying the email address.
 22. The computer readable medium of claim17, wherein the computer readable program code for allowing the firstand second computer systems to retrieve the stored account informationcomprises computer readable program code for: receiving one or moresearch criteria from the business entity associated with one of thecomputer systems; identifying one or more records in a databasecontaining account information that matches the one or more searchcriteria; providing the business entity with a list of the one or morerecords; allowing the business entity to select at least one of the oneor more records in the list; and providing a reference to the at le oneselected record for use by a contact management system.